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Droning on and on

When the Warpath kickstarter came out, I liked the concept for the Asterians the best, especially their ships. I started picking some up for Deadzone, and then got both the ship and the army battlezone in the kickstarter.

So you think I would have everything for them, right?

Of course not.

As I was looking through the book, I noticed the options for the weapon drones. There was the shield drone, and three weapon options. Heavy Fission Beamer (to take out tanks), Plasma Vortex (for infantry), and Pulse Bombard (even better against everything).

Cool I thought - I'll just try one of each. And put them together, and found that the Pulse Bombard did not come with the drones in the battlegroup nor army starter nor deadzone starter.

Well it is finally out now, but only available in the Weapon Drone box for the Asterians.

The weapon drone box contains two bodies, two flying stands, and the parts to make any two of the four drone options. This is because they have finally included the metal Pulse Bombard piece in the box.

This fits in with the other three drones, which I already have assembled and painted.

Since I don't actually play warpath much, it won't get painted until after Gencon (at least).

I am a little frustrated however, in that it is ONLY available in the drone box (not by itself). I now have the parts to make 12 MORE drones (after the four I have assembled) - I can make six of any of the three other options, but would have to get another two drones to get another pulse bombard if I wanted one.I'm not even complaining that it is an $17.99 box to get it - but I'd just like to be able to buy a couple more without adding to this growing pile of drone bodies that will never get used.

(In the time between initially writing this and when it gets posted, Mantic has announced they will now make the Pulse Bombard available separately (it starts shipping August 20th)).

Maybe one is enough however. In the few games of Warpath I have played, the Plasma Vortex was taken out EVERY game before it could shoot - so I'm not so sure it is so good against - well anything. Maybe just having one Pulse Bombard will make the difference (or maybe I just need more drones period).

And then there are the other models still missing from the Asterian line - the Kalshi Rai'mega, Kalyshi Mogals, Narsa Supoort Drones, Spectre Escort Gunships and the Hidden Strike Assasin Drones - five units still missing models.

I think the only other models missing from the line are the GCPS / Plague Lancer Battle tanks.

I have to look on the bright side - something more for me to spend my money on in the future!

Popular Posts

With the release of the
rules and starter lists for Kings of War 2nd Edition (if you
don’t have these – you can download them at
Mantic web site), as well as the release of
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, many people are looking to try Kings of War with
their existing Warhammer armies. This post will attempt
to describe the differences between the games.
The list may seem large, but in practicality it is quite an easy switch
from Warhammer 8th edition to Kings of War 2nd
edition. Plus there is nothing stopping
you from playing both games, or using your miniatures to play any games you
want. I will be posting more a tutorial
on how to play Kings of War later, this however is just the differences. First Kings of War is
NOT Warhammer Light. It is not based on
Warhammer. It was written by Alessio
Calvatore, who wrote Warhammer 7th edition and many Warhammer army
books. But Alessio also writes
historical war games, and the idea of ranked of units has been around since H G
Wells published “L…

At Gencon, I asked Ronnie Renton himself when the Historical supplement for Kings of War was coming out and he said next month.
This may not be the final cover, but for everyone that wants to field their Mongol Hordes or Spartans, the book will be out next month

Direct from Mantic

Releasing September 2016 (Shipping week of 26th)$39.99 MSRP Hardcover (will include rules and lists)With Kings of War Historical players can now enjoy their love of both Fantasy and Historical massed battle games! This supplement will allow for numerous armies from past ages to be played on the table top. From Samurai, Vikings and the armies of the Crusades, you can recreate your most loved periods in history!
Because it is all fun and games . . .

We've heard the rumors, we've seen the open day pictures and renders. We've been told that the studio models are being painted and we should have pictures of them soon.

But since when have we ever been content with waiting. Mighty Ape, an online retailer in Australia has pre-orders for the new Empire of Dust, which I believe is scheduled for release the end of July (remember that when Mantic gives a release date it is the date it BEGINS shipping, not when it hits retail stores)

I do want to also clarify that these are all pre-production images and lists - and they may be subject to change. The prices are my estimates - Mighty Ape has the australian prices - but those aren't in US $ and may be discounted (so I'm trying to guess at US MSRP). Also all of these come with bases for everything and mantic points, so I'm not listing those with each entry.

June sees some big releases from Mantic for Kings of War. When I say big, I mean BIG. Monstrous even.

First, in June the forces of the abyss are finally getting a model for the living legend Chroneas. Now a Chroneas is a monster, and while not unique, they are rare enough to never encounter more than one. Of course with Fireball 20, Piercing (1) and the special rule that it is NEVER disordered (i.e. the only way to stop it shooting at you is to kill it) they do seem to show up in almost everyone's list.
To help balance this out, the good armies see the release of the final dragon variant funded by the Kings of War 2nd Edition Kickstarter - the Basilean High Paladin.

The neutral players need a bit of loving as well - so the Forces of Nature (ok, the Brotherhood can take one as well) get the next Greater Elemental - water. (This leaves only the air elementa…

The new nameless faction is coming for Deadzone. You can currently pick up the faction starter and three of the leaders from your FLGS or the Mantic webstore.

So what do you get for the Nameless Deadzone faction starter? There are 12 plastic pre-assembled minis (these are the same as you get in the minion booster, and are also the same ones that are in the upcoming "Terror in the Deep" Star Saga expansion. However the deadzone starter also included six additional resin models.

So to start off are the scuttlers. Some of the weakest of the troops - these little crabs are your cheap options to fill out your troops.

Inkers are octopi that can create a smoke cloud once a game, and then again when they die.

The assassins are close combat troops

While the gunslingers are better at shooting

and when you need a bit more firepower, the riflemen back them up

Finally are the Ogres. Massive crabs ready to put the hurt on anything in the deadzone.

September Releases
Set for release in September (remember Mantic usually does their releases on the last Monday of the month).

Kings of War
Of course I'm going to start with Kings of War (if you wonder why - seriously, have you been reading much of this at all?)

MGKW10 - Kings of War Historical Armies $34.99.
No one is interested in this new Hardback rule supplement with 30 army lists ranging from ancient to around the 1500's (I think war of the roses is the most recent). Ok, seriously folks. Pre-order this NOW. I put up a little post a couple of weeks ago that wasn't much more than this picture and saying it was coming out - well that is now the #2 most view post in my blog with over 2500 views (my average is a few hundred).

Dungeon Saga
MGDS06 - Dungeon Saga: The Tyrant of Halpi - $49.99
If you want to see all the details about this what is coming in this expansion - just watch this space.

The fecal excrement is about to impact the rotational cooling device. And if you don't believe me, just look back at last year.

Yes, the new edition of the tournament 'recommendations' - Clash of Kings 2018 is coming. It has a release date set for January 22nd (Mantic seems to be moving to Monday releases instead of Fridays). This book promises to have the new narrative concluding this (or, by the time it comes out, last) years summer campaign, including the new map of Mantica, changed by the campaign. Of course this will be mostly ignored by most competitive players, as they will be turning immediately to see what changes have been made for the upcoming tournament season. New & changed units, spells and artefacts.
I can already hear the gnashing of teeth, the pulling of hair, and the clinching of sphincters as opinions explode across the internet. However since this was not able to be release in December as originally …

June may be the biggest month for releases for Mantic ever (at least that I have seen). It looks like 22 new products across three lines will be available, so lets get to it.
The Walking Dead:All Out War Wave 2 hits retail in June. This has been a huge hit for Mantic, and with the new releases (including the final retail exclusive release of Negan himself) the game just keeps getting better with more survivors and more options.
Miles Behind Us is a narrative expansion to The Walking Dead: All Out War Miniatures Game, containing a series of scenarios to recreate the Atlanta group’s fortunes after meeting the Greene family, from encountering Tyreese, to discovering the farm under dramatic circumstances, to the shock of opening the barn doors! The set also includes new characters, equipment, supplies, events and scenery to expand your regular games.

It also contains brand new rules for linking multiple games as a campaign, allowing your characters to take injuries, earn experience, an…